Race driver has power of prayer on his side

April 11, 2007

Sister Valeria Walker, a Holy Cross sister now living at the Saint Mary's Convent, doesn't drive anymore, but she sure likes a certain yellow car. "It used to be blue," she says. But then her great-nephew changed sponsors and colors this year. His name is Kevin Harvick, and he won the Daytona 500 in February while driving the No. 29 Shell/Pennzoil car. A yellow streak. "But then all those cars go so fast -- rrrrrrrrrooom -- that if Kevin isn't in the top three or four, it's hard to pick him out (on television)," says Sister Valeria, 86. "So sometimes I just turn off the sound and watch the drivers' places on the list at the top of the screen." If Mark Martin was the people's choice to win at Daytona when he battled Kevin Harvick to the very end, Sister Valeria's great-nephew had the power of prayer on his side. "I always pray for him to stay out of wrecks," Sister Valeria says. "And so do so many of the other sisters here." And maybe they pray just a little for him to win, too. Last year -- while capturing five of NASCAR's Nextel Cup races and nine on the Busch circuit -- Kevin sent several autographed pictures of himself to his great-aunt. They are all over the convent now. "He has a lot of fans here," Sister Valeria continues. "Sometimes, if the races are at night, I don't watch them. But the next morning, everybody is telling me how he did." Of course, she still grabs the newspaper to see for herself. She is the librarian for the Saint Mary's Convent that serves the Sisters of the Holy Cross, and so she usually has first dibs. "I never thought I would be reading the sports section of the paper," she admits. "Now, it is important to me." She even reads a little of the Notre Dame news now, too, as long as she has that section in hand. Sister Valeria became a Holy Cross sister in 1940 after growing up in southern Indiana and South Dakota. She taught and served as a school librarian in six different states for 57 years before she moved to South Bend. Two of her teaching stints were in California. Her great-nephew grew up in Bakersfield, and so she was able to see him and his family on occasion. Kevin's grandfather, Joe Walker, was Sister Valeria's brother, and Kevin's mother, JoNell, is her niece. "Kevin was like all kids, in and out of the house, but he always took time to say 'hi,' " she says. "He was very bright. "I know he started driving those little cars -- the go- Bill MoorBill Moor is a Tribune columnist. karts -- when he was 5. Then his cars kept getting bigger and bigger." And faster and faster. In 2001, after the great Dale Earnhardt died in a Daytona 500 wreck, Kevin took over the GM Goodwrench car and went on to become Winston Cup's rookie of the year. On one of the newspaper accounts that year, Sister Valeria had written in the margins by the article that Kevin was her great-nephew. Word spread. A fandom quickly formed out at Saint Mary's. Sister Valeria tries not to worry about her great-nephew. She continues to pray for him. Since a stroke in 1999, Sister Valeria no longer drives herself. "I used to, but not 190 miles an hour like Kevin does," she says. Speed apparently must run in the family. Bill Moor's column appears on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays. Contact him at bmoor@sbtinfo.com, or write him at the South Bend Tribune, 225 W. Colfax Ave., South Bend, IN 46626; (574) 235-6072.